EDUCATION chiefs have defended their decision to send important letters to pupils by second-class post.

Cheshire County Council said it was abiding by national guidelines when it posted letters to junior school pupils in Ellesmere Port and across the region.

But Glenys Potter, whose 11-year-old daughter Jenni attends Sutton Green Primary in Little Sutton, said it implied the county 'didn't care' about them.

She said: 'My daughter and all the other 10 and 11-year-olds were waiting on March 1 to find out what high schools they had been allocated to go to.

'But we didn't find out that day. Cheshire sent their letters to us by second-class post, which I think gives the impression they think the children's education isn't important enough to them.

'People in Wirral knew about their high schools on the Wednesday. I thought we were supposed to all get these results on March 1, so all the children knew together. But some didn't get them until Friday.'

A county council spokeswoman said: 'We posted all these letters by second-class mail on March 1, and that's the national guideline.'